Director, Development & Innovation
posted 2 months ago

Description

Skills

• Investment
• Program management
• Management
• Financial auditing
• Engineering
• Post-secondary education
• Research
• Business development
• Project management
• Presentation skills
• Construction
• Manufacturing
• Business
• Communication skills
• Negotiation
• Strategic planning

Full job deion

Reporting to the Vice President, Market Development, the Director, Development & Innovation (The Director) is responsible for the Wood First (WF) program focusing on:

- advancing wood use and innovative wood construction technologies in the domestic market,
- further developing and strengthening manufacturing capacity, and
- helping position British Columbia as a world leader in advanced wood construction and design.

De-risking wood use such as addressing cost and value factors, as well as leveraging the benefits of wood in prefabrication, decarbonizing the built environment, and supporting healthy living, work, and community spaces are core to the portfolio of this position.

The Director develops and implements strategies, research, and projects to identify opportunities, and develop new products, building systems, and domestic markets for British Columbia forest products. The Director oversees the management, administration, and audit of funding provided to other organizations to deliver domestic market and manufacturing development programming. This includes oversight of projects funded by FII and delivered by research, academic, and industry associations, to further advance wood use in British Columbia to maximize the value of the forest asset.

Working within a team environment, the incumbent is accountable for the investment of public dollars, including the efficient and effective delivery of activities, and the achievement of results. The Director consults with FII’s Wood First Advisory Committee (WFAC), and maintains networks and relations liaising with provincial and municipal government, manufacturing and construction industries, research and working groups that support or help advance wood use in British Columbia. Coordination with FII’s Market Initiatives and Market Outreach programs, monitoring progress, and reporting results underpin the organization’s approach to strategic, targeted and harmonized corporate-wide initiatives.

Key Responsibilities Include:

Program Strategy and Market Research (25%)

- Proactively contributing to the development of a strategic, coordinated, and consistent approach to advancing wood use in B.C.
- Developing and implementing strategies, identifying priority activities, and assisting FII in achieving its corporate goals and objectives through its Wood First program
- Monitoring and analyzing market and industry trends, leading the development and implementation of forest sector domestic market, construction, and manufacturing development strategies, including FII’s Wood First Investment Plan, and coordinating with the Provincial Government, the B.C. forest industry, and key FII stakeholders
- Managing market research projects, compiling business intelligence, and preparing market analysis and reports for use by FII and industry to support marketing and investment decisions

Investment Funding Management (25%)

- Overseeing FII’s Wood First funding program, working closely with the Senior Manager, Innovation & Sustainability, monitoring the progress of funding agreement, and providing input into program analysis, evaluation, and selection of funded projects
- Initiating, undertaking, and managing contracts or special projects to support program priorities, and preparing contract documents in accordance with FII`s procedures, standards, and policies
- Developing and managing a budget to support program implementation, providing financial oversight, and tracking expenditures according to FII’s financial policies and procedures

Stakeholder Relations (20%)

- Developing and maintaining working relationships with the provincial government, manufacturing and building stakeholders, associations, post-secondary, research institutions, and other partners
- Reporting to the Wood First Advisory Committee (WFAC) on progress and insights, and managing and engaging with the Committee to meet its purpose of providing strategic guidance to FII in the design and implementation of FII’s Wood First program

Promotion and Communication (10%)

- Ensuring clear articulation of objectives and targets to funded organizations and raising the profile of wood from B.C. among key stakeholders, including industry, government, and media
- Providing advice and supporting the development of promotional materials, and working closely with other staff in FII’s Market Outreach program to ensure current and fulsome communication content

Performance Management (10%)

- Supporting implementation of FII’s performance management framework, setting of performance targets and reporting requirements, and overseeing performance management for FII’s funding recipients
- Supporting Corporate Relations by contributing to briefing notes or background documentation as required, and preparing content for stakeholder reporting such as the Strategic Plan, Service Plan, Annual Report, and Report to Stakeholders

Management of Staff & Program (10%)

- Supporting the development of work plans and management of budget(s) for the Wood First program, ensuring staff are motivated and accountable to address workload requirements and timely delivery, contributing to FII’s and industry stakeholder objectives, and proactively collaborating with other FII programs, finance, and administration teams
- Empowering employees to identify innovative approaches to enhance organizational performance and personal development while ensuring high standards of performance are achieved
- Managing multiple outside agencies/consultants as required
- Supporting the Vice-President, Market Development with expertise as required

DEFINING SUCCESS

Critical success factors within the first 12 months include:

- Developing a deep understanding of the complex dynamics of FII’s mandate, particularly in B.C and North America, including the organization's values and business practices
- Establishing trusting relationships with the FII executive team, the Vice President, Market Development, and the broader team to understand key organizational priorities and to establish credibility as the subject matter expert on the Wood First Program
- Developing a comprehensive understanding of the Wood First Program’s goals, strategies, and implementation and building a strong rapport with the Wood First Advisory Committee
- Developing a thorough understanding of FII’s domestic partners and building a positive relationship with key stakeholders
- Leading consultations with industry representatives and government officials to provide advice on program strategies and funding criteria
- Successfully leading the Wood First program through the 2025/26 funding cycle including reviewing and awarding industry funding

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

The successful candidate joins FII with project management experience in the forest products or wood building systems, sustainable building or structural engineering, architecture, or construction and development sectors. Specific skills and experiences required include:

- Over ten years of recent and related experience in business development, commerce, manufacturing, construction, engineering, urban and/or sustainability planning or related field
- Solid business acumen with the ability to articulate strategic vision, technical data, and objectives to drive program development and long-term success
- Experience in people management including developing, engaging, directing, and retaining employees to optimize their workplace potential and promote personal and professional growth
- Experience working with stakeholders, developing consensus and effective working relationships
- Experience in program management, strategic planning and priority setting, complex project management, strategic analysis, trends, and issues management
- Experience working with funding/investment programs or reviewing costs related to business or building development activities
- Experience writing reports and preparing communication documents for government audiences

Required Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities:

- Excellent initiative and implementation skills to take multiple projects from conception to completion using creativity and innovation to expand opportunities
- Excellent research, analytical, and project management skills
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills demonstrating a high level of tact, diplomacy, professionalism, and judgment
- Strong presentation skills and the ability to articulate, understand, and deliver corporate, strategic and product specific messages
- Extensive knowledge in structural engineering, architecture, or building and/or manufacturing with wood
- Knowledge of public relations and issues management principles and practices
- Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in a team environment, competently perform a variety of activities with a high level of accuracy and within a fast-paced work setting
- Ability to synthesize and summarize large amounts of information into concise summary materials or reports
- Knowledge of building codes, with prefabrication and/or wood construction experience an asset

Core Competencies:

- Analytical Thinking: Ability to comprehend a situation by breaking it down into components and identifying the underlying complex issues. Implies the ability to systematically organize and compare the various aspects of a problem or situation and determine cause-and-effect relationships to resolve problems in a sound, decisive manner.
- Building Partnerships with Clients or Stakeholders: The desire to work co-operatively with all stakeholders to meet mutual goals based on a relationship of respect, trust, and success in delivering results.
- Business Acumen: Ability to understand the business implications of decisions and the ability to strive to improve organizational performance. It requires an awareness of business issues, processes, and outcomes as they impact the customer’s and the organization’s business needs.
- Impact / Influence: Ability to influence, persuade or convince others to adopt a specific course of action. It involves the use of persuasive techniques, presentations, or negotiation skills to achieve desired results. Initiative: Identify a problem, obstacle or opportunity and take appropriate action. Innovation: Strive to improve performance through new or creative solutions.
- Managing Organizational Resources: Ability to understand and effectively manage organizational resources (e.g., people, materials, assets, budgets). This is demonstrated through measurement, planning and control of resources to maximize results. It requires an evaluation of qualitative (e.g., client satisfaction) and quantitative (e.g., service costs) needs.
- Planning, Organizing, Coordinating: Proactively planning, establishing priorities and allocating resources appropriately. It is expressed by developing and implementing increasingly complex plans and involves monitoring and adjusting work to accomplish goals and deliver to the organization’s mandate.
- Problem Solving/Judgment: Ability to analyze problems systematically, organize information, identify key factors and underlying causes, and generate solutions.
- Results Orientation: Concern for surpassing an established standard of excellence.
- Strategic Orientation: The ability to link long term vision and concepts to daily work and awareness of impacts on strategies or other business choices.
- Teamwork and Co-operation: The ability to work co-operatively with diverse teams, work groups and across the organization to achieve group and organizational goals. This includes communicating effectively and collaboratively with others.

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

This position is based in FII’s corporate head office in Vancouver, British Columbia and will be required to travel regionally to meet with industry, government, and attend conferences. Travel expectations will vary but will likely not exceed 15 percent.

The Director is expected to be comfortable working in a virtual and dynamic office environment and will be provided with the necessary technology and support to effectively execute regardless of location.

EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATIONS

The successful candidate has completed a post-secondary degree in Business Administration, Commerce, Manufacturing, Construction, Architecture, Engineering, Urban Planning, Sustainability Planning, or a related field of discipline. An advanced degree is considered an asset. All academic degrees and professional qualifications are subject to verification by an independent third-party service provider.

COMPENSATION

A competitive compensation package is provided, including base salary and a comprehensive total rewards package. This position is also eligible for the Province of British Columbia’s defined benefits pension plan. The salary range for this position is $130,000 - $155,000 annually. The final compensation is dependent upon the qualifications of the successful candidate.

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